The following relates generally to memory devices and more specifically to thermal insulation for three-dimensional memory arrays.
Memory devices are widely used to store information in various electronic devices such as computers, wireless communication devices, cameras, digital displays, and the like. Information is stored by programming different states of a memory device. For example, binary devices have two states, often denoted by a logic “1” or a logic “0.” In other systems, more than two states may be stored. To access the stored information, a component of the electronic device may read, or sense, the stored state in the memory device. To store information, a component of the electronic device may write, or program, the state in the memory device.
Multiple types of memory devices exist, including magnetic hard disks, random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others. Memory devices may be volatile or non-volatile. Non-volatile memory, e.g., PCM, may maintain their stored logic state for extended periods of time even in the absence of an external power source. Volatile memory devices, e.g., DRAM, may lose their stored state over time unless they are periodically refreshed by an external power source. Improving memory devices may include increasing memory cell density, increasing read/write speeds, increasing reliability, increasing data retention, reducing power consumption, or reducing manufacturing costs, among other metrics.
PCM may be non-volatile and may offer improved read/write speeds and endurance compared to other memory devices. PCM may also offer increased memory cell density. For example, three-dimensional memory arrays may be possible with PCM.
Some memory types may generate heat during operation, for example, reading or writing a memory cell. For example, a PCM memory cell may be heated to high temperatures during a read or write operation. Other memory types or memory cell operations may generate heat as well. This heating may increase the temperature of neighboring memory cells, which may corrupt the stored data of the array. Such heating may make the array unreliable for data storage or place constraints on memory cell spacing, which may inhibit future cost savings or increases in memory array performance.